VP Alupo in Brazil for BRICS summit

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Vice President, Her Excellency Jessica Alupo, is in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, where she is representing President Yoweri Museveni and will join heads of State and Government under the BRICS international organisation summit that is due for July 6 – 7, 2025.

The Vice President was upon arrival at Schiphol International Airport received by the head of foreign relations with other countries in Brazil's Ministry for Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Marcia Maro and Uganda's Ambassador in Washington DC, who is also in charge of Brazil, Amb. Robie Kakonge.

The Museum of Modern Art (MAM), Rio de Janeiro in Brazil, is again in the international spotlight as it prepares to host Sunday, July 6, and Monday, July 7, 2025, BRICS Summit, under the Brazilian presidency.

BRICS is a forum for political and diplomatic articulation of countries that form the Global South, seeking international cooperation and multilateral treatment of global issues and is seen as a voice for the Global South.

BRICS also seeks greater influence and equity for its members in institutions such as the United Nations (UN), International Monetary Fund (IMF), World Bank and World Trade Organization (WTO), BRICS has on its agenda, the creation of institutions aimed at its members, such as the New Development Bank also known as BRICS Bank.

Currently, the group has 11 member countries and 10 partner countries including South Africa, Saudi Arabia, Brazil, China, Egypt, United Arab Emirates, Ethiopia, Indonesia, India, Iran and Russia while partner countries include Belarus, Bolivia, Kazakhstan, Cuba, Malaysia, Nigeria, Thailand, Uganda, Uzbekistan and Vietnam.

The partner country category was created during the Kazan Summit in Russia in October 2024. These countries are invited to participate in the meetings and debates. The main difference between the categories is that only member countries have the power to deliberate, that is, to vote in the meetings, for example, to endorse the group's final declaration.

The term BRICS was born in a 2001 study, formulated by Goldman Sachs' chief economist, Jim O'Neil, who projected the growing importance that Brazil, Russia, India and China would have in the global economy and geopolitics in the 21st century.

These countries were organised as a group in 2006. Five years later, in 2011, the acronym gained the “s”, for South Africa. In 2024, the group included Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. Argentina was invited, but under the presidency of Javier Milei, it declined to join. In 2025, Indonesia became a member of BRICS.

Also, last year, it was announced that partner countries Belarus, Bolivia, Kazakhstan, Cuba, Malaysia, Thailand, Uganda and Uzbekistan would become part of BRICS from January 1, 2025. Nigeria received the status on January 17. The most recent partner is Vietnam, which was announced on June 13.

More than 30 nations have already expressed interest in participating in BRICS, both as members and partners.

The Global South can be understood as a union between developing countries, in regions such as Latin America, Africa, South Asia and Southeast Asia.

These countries have similarities, such as a history of colonisation, diversified economies and social challenges. The nations seek to coordinate with each other to demand reforms in the global economic and political order, reducing dependence on developed countries.

Despite the name, many of these countries are geographically located in the Northern Hemisphere, such as Russia, China, Saudi Arabia and Egypt.

Any expression of interest in joining BRICS will be assessed on a case-by-case basis, whereby the final decision on membership rests upon consensus among the group's leaders.

The summit takes place in the member country that holds the rotating presidency, and 2025, is Brazil's turn in Rio de Janeiro. In 2026, the summit will be held in India. Last year, the meeting was held in Kazan, Russia.

Brazil has hosted three editions of the summit: Brasília (2019 and 2010) and Fortaleza.

The 11 countries represent 39% of the world economy, 48.5% of the planet's population and 23% of global trade. In 2024, BRICS countries received 36% of everything exported by Brazil, while we bought 34% of the total we imported from these countries.

In terms of energy capacity, the group represents 43.6% of global oil production and 36% of natural gas. The BRICS holds 72% of the world's reserves of minerals classified as rare earths, chemical elements that are essential for a range of technological applications, from electronics to renewable energy.

The BRICS Bank was created in 2015, the New Development Bank (NDB), and is a multilateral development bank created to mobilise resources to finance infrastructure and sustainable development projects in developing countries. The NDB has already approved 120 projects reflecting $39 billion in financing. Founding members of BRICS are the largest depositors of funds in the development bank, and in 2023, former President of Brazil, Dilma Rousseff, a celebrated Economist and of female gender, was chosen as president of the NDB and was reelected in 2025 at the bank's headquarters in Shanghai, China.